after he's loosed it to get it back again. so, all the detail is there. it's some-- whoever's painted this has understood the falconry side of things very well, hasn't he? yeah. it's, um, painted in oils on this very large panel which is actually several pieces of wood joined together. so, we think from the costume that it's about 1620. right. which is, incidentally about 15 years after guy fawkes. yes, quite, yes. just to place it you know in the reign of james i. uh, in terms of authorship, well we're beginning to be able to put names to pictures of this vintage rather more accurately than we had been able to and in this case it's just possible... there was an artist called john souch... right. working in chester at around this time, and-- who covered much of the north of england, and it's possible that it's got his dabs on it, as it were. um-- condition. you asked me about condition. ( laughs ) not good. not brilliant, no. i think there's still quite a lot of original paint under here

and this area, which is water damaged is as much in the varnish as it is in the paint. which is quite good news 'cause i think there's some original paint under there. you don't really know until you start stripping it down. so, there is quite a lot of work to do on it to get it right, to get it looking absolutely spiffing. yeah. but, um... maybe £2,000 or £3,000 worth of work, as much as that. but then you've got to look at what value the painting is, and falconry's really popular in the middle east-- from whence it came, of course, you know. yes, yes. any picture with a falcon, the arab market is going to get very excited about. and, uh, i'd be very surprised if it didn't make £20,000 or £30,000. right. yes. insure it for £30,000. right. okay, yes. i know, it's a responsibility isn't it? it is, rather. ( laughs ) but that's stewardship isn't it? that's the thing about handing on family things. you need to look after them. i think that's exactly right. yeah. it's difficult to find the precise word to describe these.

the word "flamboyant" certainly works, the word "kitch" certainly works well with these, and i have to say, when i picked these up from around here and walked across the room there was not an eye in the building that was not transfixed on them. they are all so compelling. what do you reckon? um-- which is the word you'd best use to describe them? well, i'm not sure that i could say that. ( laughs ) because it would sound like kind of what? different? different. go on. definitely they're different. um... what about ghastly? is that...? yes, yes that's about right yes. i think they're also fairly ghastly. they really touch some bases. they're exemely well-made. they are certainly attractive in the sense that they attract attention. well they certainly do that. so, tell me, did you dig them up out of the garden? no. i just ask because they are so incredibly filthy that it looks as if they may have spent 50 years underground.

you know, maybe i should wait for high tide and wash them down. ( chuckles ) i'm getting the imprsion that you don't like these a lot, and yet, they're yours. well, um, my late mother-in-law left them for me. i don't think she liked me very much which is hence the reason i've got them. well, i think that they're better than you do and i think whilst if we walked around the queue here and offered these for sale for a fiver most people would turn them down at that but i think these '50s signed murano flamenco figures-- made on the venetian island of murano in probably late '50s into the '60s-- but are superior pieces would probably be worth at an auction-- if well-directed-- £150 to £200 each. oh, she did like me then, after all. ( chuckles ) i didn't realize. that's great. oh, no, i didn't thinkthey were worth anything like that. no, the charity shop's not getting them now then.

i'm having a nanny moment. ( laughs ) are you having a nanny moment? oh, very much so, yes. now, look. we've got 5 prams here. and i happen to know that this isn't the lot. no, unfortunately. now, i think i may-- am i allowed to call you a bit of a prammie? yes, you can call me a prammie. i'm proud to be a prammie. now, how many have you got at home? another 10 at home and another one on the way. ( both laugh ) and, uh, where are they all? well, we live in a large house so they've taken over the front living room, and in the hallway and upstairs, too. but they live indoors, which is the perfect climate for a pram. absolutely and do they get an outing ever? they get an outing most days unless it's raining. we don't do-- we don't do rain and prams. no, quite. and looking around well, that's a pram dating from the latter part of the 19th century-- slightly sort of mary poppins-esque. what i love about it is this fabulous barley twist brass handle

at the-- at the front there huge wheels, and, um-- the forerunner of everything else we see here today. so, the prams that we're looking at around and about here are mostly 1950s and '60s. yes, yeah. you've... concentrated on that particular period, have you? mmm. why? i think it's deep bodies and big wheels for me. i just love the shape of the pram. i just think they're absolute beauties of craftsmanship. in the 1950s, there were certain companies which were top of the range weren't there? yes. and i would've thought-- was l.b.c. one of them? l.b.c. was one of them. um, marmet... this being a marmet. particularly in the queen. the queen is the actual model name. right. and they followed with a lady and a marmet princess. oh, right. and so it goes on and on. what i think is very telling is that, in fact it was often a make of pram

that would sell the job to the nanny. a-- a-- yes, that's very true. i think a house or a mom would advertise, saying, "nanny required." "nanny required. we have a marmet pram." yeah, or an osnath exactly. or a london baby coach-- whatever. and that usually filled the vacancy. i was trying earlier to work out what the collective name for a group of prams is, and i've come up with the name a "push" of prams. oh, that's good. yeah, yeah. and as far as value is concerned what do you put on something-- a classic pram from the 1960s in really tip-to restored condition? well, i think like any collector it depends on the make and the model. if it's a-- if it's a pram that you want, you will pay, like any collector would. i paid-- the most i paid for my pram was the queen. she was a model i always wanted, and i absolutely adore her. she will never be sold. so, to me, she's priceless. and i paid £700 for her.

and-- and in this-- in that restored condition. if she wasn't in that condition i would only-- especially if wheels need re-chroming which, talking expense-- i would only maybe pay £250, £350. well, i hope you've got lots of grandchildren to push in these. hopefully, in a couple of years. daughter's just wed, but hopefully, yes. she's working on it. yes. fantastic. thank you very much for bringing in your push of prams. thank you very much. henry, i've interrupted your busy day 'cause i'm pretty sure you must have some strong views on the ultimate age of elegance. oh, yeah. what would you choose? well, mine would be the days of charles ii. wonderful, wonderful flamboyant ways. i mean, wigs and hats with plumes and all that. but of course, the days before it in the city of worcester where i come from, were very different. before charles ii came to the throne we had oliver cromwell and, um, pots like this you know with poems on it-- it's a chamber pot to do your--

do your business. yes. and-- and-- and the poem says, "fast and pray and pity the poor. amend thy life and sin no more." while you're doing-- so, you had to be pious even when you were answering a call of nature. the only fun in life was sort of tipping it out of the window on top of a roundhead's head. and so, of course-- then you'd get sent to prison. and of course, it all changed so dramatically with charles, didn't it? with charles ii and the restoration. charles ii came back and the restoration-- everything is peacockish and wonderfully exciting and you get slipware like this thing. i mean, this is-- seen this before. well, this is a copy a copy of the original aussie of the hour at the moment-- but you have your drink out of this, and it's all full of fun, i mean, it's absolutely gorgeous. ornamentation, of course. ornamentation. design and beauty. but life was like that. it grew exciting, you know? do you wonder what you'd have been doing back then, in those days? well, i would've been a cavalier. i-- i-- i hope-- no, because i helped charles ii escape after the battle of worcester.

oh, you did, did you? yes, i did, yeah. right, okay. i remember that. and-- and so i would've become a cavalier. and, uh, this little piece is just a fragment of a pot that i found in a well in worcester. now, that's me dressed up in a cavalier's costume. fantastic. that's what i would've looked like. so, you would've liked the clothes, then, would you? oh, i would've loved to do it with a waistcoat and a wig, and a plumed hat, and, uh-- and you would carry your cane as you walk around the town. lovely gaiters and things like that. i can just picture myself dressed like that. i think it's only appropriate when we're looking at the age of elegance and what makes up elegance to be looking at a fantastic costume like this

and the wonderful pieces that you've brought in. where have they come from? well, these are all part of the collection of the little theatre in gateshead. so, these costumes are actually used on stage? absolutely. oh, yes. whenever possible. yes. we're always dying to get costumes like this on stage. mary has actually worn this one. it looked fabulous. i can-- i can imagine. i mean it's so appropriate to our setting now isn't it, really? i mean, it is a perfect flapper dress from the '20s. and obviously, when you look around at some of the details in this building they're replicated right here in front of us with some of the motifs. yes, the beautiful beadwork. and the glitz of the beads comes alive, doesn't it, under the light? it's just fantastic. absolutely, yes. so, you go back earlier than these, do you? our earliest are probably about 1890, possibly 1880, and we've just continued to collect and accumulate-- you know, that one is about 1912 or thereabouts. um, that suit there is about 1947.

so, do you have to do much to keep these costumes going? yes, yes. i mean, if they're in daily use. yes, yes. for example, um-- you can see some of the beadwork is going there so we replace them if we can. sometimes it's not easy to find suitable replacements, because modern materials and sizes don't always match up with these vintage articles. this is actually very prada. it's very now. it's very, um-- it's remarkably revealing, and you'd have had to have had a heavy-- a heavy suit underneath. a heavy gray suit underneath. and-- and i think you forget, also when you see some of these-- do you have the underwear that goes with dresses like these? we do, yes. yes, we have the petticoats the bloomers the shemises. oh, yes, we've got all that. you've got it all. yes. yes, yes. we have actually recently bought some replica corsets so that we can pull the waists in of our girls so that they can try and get into those tiny waists. i mean, that is tiny and it's the kind of thing that you would've worn as a day dress.

that perhaps in two parts you would've worn promenading along the front outside the spa when it was first built. and one has to think about how much these are worth. they're working costumes. they're not museum pieces. they're working costumes. that's right that's right. but they could equally be-- some of these are so exquisite that they could be museum pieces. um... well, certainly, this-- this duo here probably at auction would fetch something around about £400. really? really? something like that. ( chuckles ) gosh. again, this lovely flapper dress, i think the price on that would probably be about sort of £500 to £600. really? whole value for the collection-- we're moving into the thousands. right. goodness. it's a good job, that. kept under lock and key. yeah, i know. very secure. to be honest i don't think we could bare to part with them, because, you know, this is part of our history. mmm. it's tiny. it's a tyg as big as a thimble.

and is it yours? it's my-- ( laughs ) it's my wife's actually. it is ridiculously small for a tyg. you know it's a tyg, or a loving cup, as it's also known. well, i thought it were a loving cup. it is, it is. and the idea is, you pass it down the bench. three handles, so one handle to the next neighbor, they then turn it to the next, and so it rotates as it goes down the line. but that is ridiculously small for a tyg, so... it's a miniature. yeah? and do you know who it's by? well, i think it's by macintosh, isn't it? is it, uh-- moorcroft built it and macintosh jumped in? macintyre. tyre. macintyre, is it? macintyre. and it says macintyre there, and william moorcroft was famously employed by them. that's where he made his name before going on to set up his own moorcroft factory. pretty little thing. decorated with what, cicklin? oh, i'm not so sure i'd know. beautiful thing, but it is very very small. the-- the real article... i'm afraid... a bit bigger.

the real article a real tyg, should be this size and if it were this size, it would be worth... getting on for £1,500. yeah. so, we go from £1,500... down to... £1,500. mmm. that is £1,500? because if so, the smaller, the better. so, that's £1,500? it's small and exquisitely formed. well, you've brought along today this most astonishing sword. now, it's made by wilkinson, and i happen to know quite a lot about it but i'd like to hear the story from you. i acquired this in the late 1960s, about 1968. um, i'm a collector of edged weapons and, um, a dealer i contact on southend-on-sea had this, and, um, i was quite astonished to begin the

chance to obtain it because i had bought a small german knife which he was fascinated with. we did a straight swap. now, i had a funny feeling i got the best of the deal. i just knew that at the time because i had a bit of information about the sword. now, what they told me was this was the pattern piece that had been used as a model for the swords made for the personal bodyguard of haile selassie, emperor of ethiopia, in about 1928, 1929. and it's been in wilkinson sword's pattern room all that time. now, at about that time, wilkinson went into private ownership, and they cleared out a lot of their old stock. i was well-delighted to get hold of it. i thought, "whatever the story, this has got to be a piece worth having." well, that's an astonishing story about how you actually obtained it. haile selassie of course-- "the lion of judah"-- came to the throne i think in about 1930. um-- he was regent until-- until about that time. right. and these swords were made by wilkinson,

as you say for his personal bodyguard. now, the interesting thing about this is that, um wilkinson's pattern piece, which this is, was the only one that was made with a hilt and a crosspiece. all the others that were sent across to ethiopia were sent without furnishings, as it's called. right. so, they were sent naked, if you like. now, there weren't very many others manufactured. there were 20 manufactured for haile selassie's bodyguard and of course, he was deposed in-- what? 1973, 1974 something like that. and so, we don't know what's happened to the others. they may not exist any longer. they may be sitting rusting in some ethiopian shed somewhere. who knows? so, this could be unique. it's the most beautifully made sword. typically by wilkinson's who made lots and lots of decorative and commemorative swords this is, um-- has a wavy blade.

this beautiful wavy blade, which is made of steel of course, and it has this gorgeous gorgeous gold and red flame effect running right the way down the blade. but the-- the unique thing about this, of course, is the pattern. it's the pattern from which the others were judged so there is not another one of these and that's what makes it interesting to me. so, in the late '60s you swapped this for a knife? yes. worth...? £14-- £14 was the value of that. ( laughs ) £14? yes. okay, um i think today... this sword-- it's so unique, it's worth between £2,000 and £2,500. not a bad investment. i'm surprised. my father was a vicar in smethwick and yorkshire, and then it was in the vicarage, and then it was moved to clark eden, and i really remember it from the clark eden vicarage.

i would be about 9 years old then. i don't know where it came from only that it was actually a gift from somebody to my father. and it remained in the hallway in the vicarage as a centerpiece. my father absolutely adored it, and when he retired he moved into a dormer bungalow, and he even had it put on the staircase in the dormer bungalow going up the stairs so that he could see it every day. so, he loved the picture. absolutely adored the picture. did he do any, um, research on the painting at all? i don't think he did. i've done more of the research. i've tried to find things out, and i come to a dead end every time. well, i can help you there. oh, wonderful. oh, yes. the picture is a copy, after a dutch artist who was working in rome in 1620-- an artist called gerard von honthorst. oh. and it is the nativity. this is a 19th-century copy of that picture.

the real giveaway with this painting is the 19th-century florentine frame. right. we call them sort of palazzo pitti frames. they hand-carved florentine frames in the 19th century, and students and artists would copy the great masters that were hanging in the uffizi and the pitti palazzo. in 1993, there was a car bomb that went off just outside the uffizi, and unfortunately, the nativity by honthorst was destroyed. two other major pictures by manfredi were destroyed and also 30 great masters were damaged. so, the original painting, a totally priceless painting is no longer with us and sadly, also, on that particular day when these great old masters were destroyed um, 26 people were wounded and 6 people died. there are only 8 listed, recorded-- 8 copies listed, but undoubtedly there's more around the world. yes, yes, yes. the original painting that was destroyed was three times the size of your

picture. good gracious me i thought mine was... ( laughs ) was big enough. of course, this oil on canvas um-- honthorst would've been really influenced by caravaggio, the great master of light and this was probably painted by-- the original was painted by candlelight but you get a real sort of radiant light coming from baby jesus right through all the figures, right up to the top. a kind of ray of hope. the light of the world. so, in terms of value the original painting by honthorse-- literally priceless. of course, it's no longer with us but a copy-- a 19th-century copy after the picture-- is worth approximately £4,000 to £6,000. oh, good. lovely. thank you very much. thanks very much. that's lovely. so, it's not a set of golf clubs, then? no... it's something the ladies aren't allowed to see, i'm afraid. okay, hide your eyes girls, hide your eyes.

oh... it's very naughty. have you seen one of these before? have you seen what it is yet? it's a lady on a potty. ( laughs ) it's more than that, isn't it? yes. because it's a lady with a purpose. now, what does she do? does she fly up this way? there we go-- wee! she's, uh-- does all sorts of things, and on her bottom here she's got a blade, and what she is, actually, is a cigar cutter. a novelty cigar cutter. okay, so, how come you have got it? this is not a kind of girly thing to have is it, really? it's been passed down through the family. my great, great granddad. uh, and that's about all i know about it, but i do know that the ladies in the family were never allowed to see it. it was always on his watch chain in his waist coat pocket, oh... and when asked "no, you can't look at it." it was his secret. it was his secret.

his secret passion. then, when my mother inherited it i was allowed to look at it, and told, you know "it's the naughty lady." ( laughs ) i think she's great, and just the sort of thing that a grandfather should have on the end of a watch chain, actually. something naughty and rather rascally. um, she's dated from around 1900, 1910. made of brass. and in fact, i would've said she's-- because she's such a cheeky little thing, i think she's gonna have a reasonable value. i would put her at about-- oh, £100, £120. i think she's terrific. oh, really? yes. i think she's gorgeous. fiona: in this splendid art deco building, we're asking some of our experts to choose their ultimate age of elegance, and eric knowles with the era you've chosen you should feel very much at home. i do. i mean, this is-- bridlington's art deco temple, it really is and yes, i mean, those interwar years really do it for me. because it was the age of thoroughly modern millie, when it was stylish to raise your

skirts and bob your hair, and people just wanted to have a party. i mean, they'd had the horrors of the first world war, and there's this new generation, this new emancipated woman, um, and, uh-- they were able to get out and follow their heroes and heroines on the silver screen 'cause hollywood introduced glamour to the working classes in general. i mean, this figure-- this is josef lorenzl. i affectionately always refer to him as "legs lorenz." and here's this woman, i mean, she is the epitome of perfect health and form. and, uh, again, this was an age where people took you know a great interest in their own-- in their own health. so, um-- certainly the lines of this are beautiful, as indeed this-- this cocktail shaker. well, you know here we are with a-- can i do it? 'cause i've always-- i mean-- you know i've always fancied, you know working at the savoy behind the bar and, uh-- you're wasted, eric, look. no, i love a good-- a good manhattan

and i know just the perfect place in manhattan that does them. but again, you look at something like that, we're moving through this art deco period into modernism because, you know, again, just to show you-- i mean, that could have come off of-- of a motor vehicle it's such a strange-looking thing. and really it is a cocktail shaker, of course. and of course, as you say you know after the first world war, we're talking about the 1920s, and people were-- you know, coming out of such a desperately tragic time, and drabness and sadness, and they wanted glamour and exoticism, didn't they? they did. i mean, the women, they got rudolph valentino. um, so that was the exotic side of it. but when it comes to speed and streamline, everybody is moving forward. think of brooklyns and bugattis, and bentleys and, uh, "anyone for tennis?" um, people became-- you know, far more-- for want of a better word-- worldly. and as far as elegance goes, i mean, talking about bugattis and that kind of thing-- that was the ultimate elegance, but also for the women, it was the clothing, wasn't it? oh, the clothing. especially the sort of shimmy dresses.

now, bearing in mind in their mother's day, a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking-- wow, all of a sudden legs are on the scene. um, and those dresses, they were designed to move because, you know, people would go out dancing in a way that they'd never done before, and, uh-- and the dresses, you know they were typically very, very streamlined. i mean, i look sometimes at their dresses and i see skyscrapers. ( camera shutter clicks ) as you know, this is a work table, but there's a little story behind this, isn't there? well, there is, yes. it's always ever been known as granny's sewing table. it was left to me by my granny about 15 years ago and i can remember it from childhood--

it being in her bedroom with all her needles and threads and buttons. she never threw anything away, so she kept buttons off things and kept them in tins, and there was always a piece of thread that would nearly match. if not quite perfectly it would do. um, and i always admired it and always played with it, and when she died, it was left to me. and i think if it-- if it had been a work table it might've had a bag underneath but i can't ever remember there being a bag there. as i say this is how it's always been-- including the sort of bowed top. right, yes. warts and all. warts and all, yes. what this is-- actually, it's a regency piece of furniture. and the wood is rosewood. but when rosewood was first introduced it was known as princess wood so-- 'cause we had kingwood. or, the french had kingwood. they found this wood and it was known as princess wood. so, it's a highly sophisticated piece of furniture. really? and, to me, it's just beautifully droll. it's made of, say, rosewood veneer

and satinwood. we have the top, which is cross-banded in satinwood and down the legs, it's simulated in bamboo in this lovely yellow color and-- which is, again, solid satinwood-- and then it finishes in elegant rosewood-- rosewood legs inlaid with boxwood. now, what's so nice with this-- you can imagine this in the early 19th century in around about 1810 that the regency or the late georgian household-- that'd be sitting there. yes, you're right, it did have a long bag. and that would've been holding the wools and silks and things like that. yes. and then, the lady of the house, um-- would've been sitting there, elegantly doing her sewing. this is a really good piece of furniture. i would put evaluation of this around £5,000 to £6,000. never! yes. my-- my word. oh, granny would be so thrilled.

she would be absolutely thrilled to pieces. she really would. it's-- it's just granny. fiona: in among all the objects brought along by our visitors today, we've had a bit of fun with our experts choosing their ultimate age of elegance. i wonder which one you'd choose. well, i thought i'd join in the fun, so, based on the criterion of fashion alone i've plumped for the 1970s and this vintage dress by that master of elegance-- none other than christian dior. so, from the very elegant spa at bridlington, bye-bye. ♪

>> this is "bbc world news." funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york stowe vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank. >> at union bank our relationship managers work hard to know your business, offering specialized solutions and capital to help you meet your growth objectives. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations.

what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> this is bbc world news america reporting from washington. siege in the sahara, the algerian army storms against the facility when muslim extremists kidnapped foreign workers. the situation is unclear. >> a dangerous and uncertain. if we have to prepare ourselves for the possibility of bad news ahead. >> labeled terrorists by the u.s., fighters are gaining support in syria. we have an exclusive report. entering a russian treasure trove inside of this museum this collection is like no

other. welcome to our viewers on public television in america and also around the globe. uncertainty tonight around the fate of dozens of hostages held by islamists in algeria. they launched a raid to try to free the hostages and the bbc understands there are several casualties. >> algerian forces surrounding a gas plant according to of algerian television. some hostages are dead, someone did, some are free. jihadists raided the facility

looking for hostages. they had to launch an operation to free them because the kidnappers would not negotiate. >> a fluid situation that is ongoing, and very uncertain. i think we should be prepared for the possibility of further bad news, how difficult news in this difficult situation. >> it appears to have been well- planned. survivors say the kidnappers knew their way around has reportedly strapped to explosives. the convoy of cars killed both militant stand islamists. >> when faced with terrorism there will be no negotiation and no black male. this is the position we have maintained for some time.

>> he was lucky to escape with his life. >> i can't describe how happy i am. we're always hopeful. >> we're really excited. >> are you going to have a party? >> i will give them a big hug. >> the emergency management team came and this crisis has not gone the way that they hoped. they will ask of death could have been avoided if managed differently. >> a few people know more about fighting the and then the general. he commanded u.s. forces until he was forced to leave the post in 2010.

he published a memoir titled my share of the task. he spoke about the growing threat in north africa. do you think that what we are seeing at the moment suggests that there is a new front in the war against islamic extremism? >> i don't think it is new. it morphed back in 2006 and in reality, i think this is a maturation for evolution of something growing for a number of years. >> with the french operation, we see this retaliation in algeria. does that surprise you? >> in fact, i think the network they have been trying to build has been banged up for quite awhile. algeria has a very difficult

history internally, particularly since 1992. i think these things are coming to the fore, it is pretty predictable. it is surprising that it is so completely controlled by the extra missed groups right now. >> how much of the threat is there? >> that don't have many interests. all around are countries that are important to france. historically and economically. if you think of that as a landlocked afghanistan, it doesn't look important except wherein it is and how could be a lot point for these groups to spread like a cancer. >> you draw a parallel before 9/11. there is a failed state where islamists have a large amount of

control. >> with a great proximity to things they can do great damage to. >> are there other parallels? >> depopulation is not the client automatically be swayed by extremist groups. when you get a significant number they can have the ability to control the population. i think a lot of that came from the outside. >> you have written about the franchising. if things had done differently could we have prevented what we have seen now? a global spread of the organization? >> i think all we could have done better.

i think we're seeing of brand and an idea spread. it is the legitimacy of the brand. it is not as strong as it once was. they offer a sort of nihilistic future a return to the seventh century. at the same right, it is a powerful lever where you are not happy with your current prospects. somebody else is responsible they are here to allow them to take control of your own destiny. >> do they write about the idea that perhaps we taught people languages? is that where america went wrong. could we have done more to try to win the intellectual argument?

>> i think afghanistan is a great example. if we had trained 10,000 americans to speak we could have made a huge difference because we went in blind and had this cursory understanding. a small number of americans with experiences. it is not something that you could get and understand because things had changed so much. the traditional normal really goes to 1978. what you have is this mutated society trying to repair itself as you try to navigate a complex environment. you don't speak the language and you have cultural deficits.

it is almost impossible to develop the contextual understanding that you need. you have to understand if you're trying to impact a society. >> in other news, the militants said they have executed a french hostage captured in 2009. french armed forces tried to rescue him last saturday but failed. they executed him on wednesday evening and they say he was probably killed during the rescue attempt. the country now has a steady government. the united states recognizes them for the first time in 20 years pillar in -- 20 years. lance armstrong has been stripped of his mettle. the committee acted after the

governing body found him guilty of systematic doping and stripped them of seven wins. there is speculation as to whether he will lead men to open or apologize. extremists are gaining ground militarily and they're also winning popular support. it has become increasingly powerful. the free syrian army is living in kidnapping. they met one of the leaders of the front and found this exclusive report. >> they are waiting for bread. eight hours. nothing is more emblematic of

what they have captured, and everyone knows the reason. it is the free syrian army fighters that have eluded the supply. >> we have no bread, and no fuel, no power. she goes on to tell me that we used to live like kings. now the strong devour the week. there is an atmosphere of insecurity. there are kidnappings. support is slipping away in the free army. these men are the beneficiaries. for many in aleppo, they are saviors. to the united states, they are terrorists.

in this secretive group agreed to speak to us. i asked if a democratic syria rejected the state, would it continue? >> that will never happen. syria is an islamic country and the people of as long. they are fed up with secular regimes. >> they are responsible for many perhaps most of the suicide attacks in syria. they face a tax of killing civilians indiscriminately. we choose only military targets they insist. the regime put car bombs among civilians. there is a lot of effort to undermine our reputation, he says. i challenge anyone to present evidence.

he also denied any link to terrorist groups. a plane drops bombs. they think the front building is the target. >> that have taken cover in case the plane make another pass. they have a reputation for being the bravest fighters. they are widely regarded as honest. the power and influence may have a very big say in syria's future. >> there is still support for the free syrian army, but even these fighters wonder if it has

been worth it. >> i wish our lives could go back to what they were, she says. they're forced to burn rubbish to keep warm. western governments have a dilemma. if they stay out of syria the islamists will go stronger. but weapons sent to the uprising might reach them. so people wait for help that is probably not coming. >> air rare look inside syria and the longer this conflict goes on, the more complicated it becomes. still to come on tonight's program, carrying concealed weapons in a classroom. one texas community in cages in a fierce debate. it was billed as the future of aviation but tonight, all of

the dree minor aircraft around the world are grounded the following alert on the flight from japan yesterday. the latest in a string of safety concerns. >> your 7873 minor. >> made of plastic so it is lighter and cheaper. but they become a bit of a nightmare for boeing. this isn't a duro, this is yesterday's's emergency evacuation after fears of a fire on board barely a week after another reminder caught fire in boston. the plane is grounded until boeing can prove it is safe. this is the cause, a battery the size of a shoe box made of lithia myron. the same material used in laptops and mobile phones.

they don't actually fly the planes. >> you can potentially be looking at a loss of a complete aircraft. >> european safety regulators granted the plane today. the battery is the most serious problem. boeing says it is working around the clock to return the plane to the skies, but there is no indication how long that might take.

>> only one voice powerful enough to make this happen. yours. that was president obama's plea today to enact the gun control proposal he has laid out. a day after he introduced those measures, it is clear it won't be easy. further restrictions are seen as infringing on the right to bear arms. we traveled to texas to assess the mood there. >> the population is 80 and the local school draws kids from all over the county. the nearest police station is half an hour away. after a series of shootings, the education authority here felt compelled to take matters into their own hands. they decided that some of the school teachers should carry

concealed weapons in the classroom. no one knows which teachers are armed or how many had no one asks. >> do feel safer? >> absolutely. i have to of my own children here. it makes me feel better if i ever have to be gone for business or away from the school, they can protect it. >> what will happen if an armed man breaks into the school? >> they will be shot. best case scenario. that is the best thing that they can hope for. this is an america where there is enough dark thought of barack obama and the emerging tyranny. it was a large defense of the people against an overbearing and oppressive state. >> if you hear the rhetoric, they are talking about marble.

they loved petitions. it shows them a majority want this. he even talked about the mandate. the mandate from the people to do whatever he wants to do. he has a mandate to act as president and not rewrite the constitution. >> you are frightened. >> absolutely. the government is responsible for some of the horrors of our history. >> americans flocked to gun stores to stock up. sales rising dramatically as the owners hope to preempt a possible ban. there are four times as many gun retailers as there are mcdonald's restaurants. in europe, we have accepted the idea that only the state and only the authorities should legitimately use violence. >> my response is that people in europe have been kowtowed to

the point over the years that they don't know that they are missing all of these rights that we have over here. we have had that right for so long, it is ingrained in the american spirit and the american culture. it is not something easily changed. >> i think the europeans are very much less free than we are. >> 100 million americans have guns at home. how do you eradicate the danger of that when in the minds of so many, guns are synonymous with the basic freedoms on which america is founded? >> whole there on the gun control debate. for a rare glimpse inside of the world's most famous museum, the kremlin armory opened its doors 200 years ago and there is an incredible collection of

treasures that involved to the russian czars. we gave unique access. >> and there is one place where you can really get a feel for what it has been like to be a russian czar. this museum is a treasure trove of artifacts. they can drink, put on, said on. ivan sat there on the left and his 10-year-old brother sat on

the right. you see the space in the back, it was a hidden compartment where his sister was here so she could whispered instructions. they have always had secrets in the kremlin. and if you have a throne, you need a crown. gary imperial russian crowns were stunningly beautiful. that is the coronation crown of empress anna decorated with two and a half thousand diamonds. pretty nice. this is catherine the great. and this is her wedding dress. it must've been a tight squeeze. this is one place the public does not get to see. the restoration room where a museum pieces are given a sprucing up like this one. the coronation trade of empress maria. it is made of silk but a lot of the silver thread has come undone.

that is why she has her needle and thread. it will take six months but this will look as good as new. of all the wonderful objects in this museum, these are my favorites. in this luxurious sleigh that carry the empress from saint petersburg to moscow for her coronation. it was pulled by 23 horses. and finally, the oldest carriage in the collection, 400 years old and a gift from james the first of england. in the name of anglo russian french, will give a cyclical peak inside. it is very luxurious. finally, the oldest carriage in the collection, 400 years oldasas presence go, this is not

about one. i can't imagine david cameron giving that a peak.

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